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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. face — to confront
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bulb — for light
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chest — of your body
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bound — tied together
  14. band — a ring
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. band — a music group
  17. chest — a box
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. wind — moving air
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stand — to bear
  24. band — a rubber band

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com